The good news is now well and truly out there.
Kate Shaw and Rebecca Tuck are the next set of intrepid planners who will be taking to the stage and taking on the challenge of Financial Planning LIVE at our next big shindig, New Blood 2: No Wrong Path, in London on 4 February.
Pals of the lang cat and the awesome duo behind Financial Life Planning, Kate and Rebecca will be taking up the mantle following the star turns from Nicola Ellis and Jennifer Ellis of Wellington Wealth in Glasgow last year.
After meeting our “client” and seeing where an initial conversation takes us all, Kate and Rebecca will disappear behind the scenes to put together their assumptions and recommendations, before returning to the stage to show rather than tell the audience about the power of planning.
Ahead of the big day, we sat down with the two firms to chat through how our first experiment of carrying out live financial planning worked in practice, and what all the planners involved hoped and hope to get across by taking part.
Nicola: “When the lang cat asked us to be involved in New Blood, the main reason for saying yes (apart from Jenny saying yes for me!) was if we could somehow inspire the next generation.
“We’d been to an event at the Hydro in Glasgow back in 2018 called Fire Up Scotland. It was a free event, with about 14,000 school kids from all over Scotland, and featuring TEDx style talks across different industries, and from business owners across different areas. And it was the most inspiring thing I’d been to. I just thought how good that event was, and we thought if we could a bring a bit of that event to this one, that would be great.
“After New Blood we had some lovely feedback, from both the planners in the audience and the students. Some people asked about how I presented the cashflow in the way I did, but for us there was also the reassurance that we’re doing what other people do. We’re a teeny firm, so you do tend to wonder about whether other people approach things the same way you do.”
“I worked in a financial services firm in the summer holidays… [but] I didn’t see any of the good stuff, and it’s such a shame.
“The experience of seeing a client meeting up close will hopefully be a lot more inspiring than the work experience I experienced myself.”
Rebecca Tuck, Financial Life Planning
Jennifer: “From the students and those new to the profession, the feedback that stood out for us came from two sisters who attended the event together. One of them had started taking their financial planner exams and one was also hoping to become a planner. She said seeing us was inspiring for them, which was nice to hear.”
Rebecca: “I think we decided to say yes to Financial Planning LIVE on the day Nicola and Jenny did it. We thought: ‘This is great. We should have a go at this.’
“For us, being involved is absolutely for the benefit of the younger people that will be in the room, and the next generation.
“I worked in a financial services firm in the summer holidays between GCSEs and A-levels and then between A-levels and going to university.
“I said I will never work in financial services because the experience I had at that age was so boring. Because I was only there temporarily, and I was young and unqualified, I got all the crap jobs, things like sorting through the archive boxes. I didn’t see any of the good stuff, and it’s such a shame.
“I’m glad I managed to find my way back but I think for a lot of young people, even if they choose to work in financial planning, they don’t necessarily see the planning process until they’re later in their careers. So I think that experience of seeing a client meeting up close will hopefully be a lot more inspiring than the work experience I experienced myself.”
Kate: “Advice and planning is so different from when I started nearly 30 years ago, when it was dry and dull and awful. But what I do now could not be more different. I absolutely love what I do, and if I love it, lots of other people will love it as well. And there is so much scope to make it your own.
“The way I look at it is if you’re not bringing in young people and those new to the profession, you’re missing out. Of course, you have to put the time and effort in, but you have to do that for anybody who works for you, and whatever age they are. So you might as well do it with somebody who you know you’re going to learn from and get stuff back from too.”
Rebecca: “You don’t want to end up in a bubble, particularly if you’re a small firm. I think there’s a real danger of becoming quite isolated and not getting any opinions from anyone outside of your very small circle. Benefiting from the energy and the new ideas that come with bringing in new/younger people, we’re so open to that.”
Kate: “For me, I wouldn’t be anything other a planner. You can bring so much of yourself to it if you choose to. There are so many options within advice, and it’s such a brilliant, flexible career, especially for women. Nobody sees that side of it. So if we can sit up there and do what Jenny and Nikki did, and make it look fun – because they did and it is – then job done.”
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Join us at New Blood 2: No Wrong Path on 4 February 2026, Kings Place, London. Book your place (tickets are very nearly sold out though, so you haven’t got long)
